It was only 21 months ago that Tom Latham was appointed New Zealand's permanent Test captain, but he has already overseen famous away series wins: first in India, and now in England.
Back in 2024, Latham led New Zealand on their 13th Test tour of India, returning with not just a first win but a remarkable 3-0 scoreline. The scale of the achievement was carried in the fact it was India's first series defeat at home in 12 years.
A 2-1 victory against England carries similar historical context. After wrapping up a 160-run win on the final day of the third Test at Trent Bridge, Latham's side became the first team to come from behind to win a three-Test series in England. To do so, they had to overcome more than just a bruising 115-run defeat in the first Test at Lord's.
New Zealand cricket as a whole was reeling when Kane Williamson announced a shock retirement in the aftermath of that loss. After recovering to square the series at the Kia Oval, they were rocked by injuries to the matchwinners from that second Test. Matt Henry, who took 11 wickets, and Glenn Phillips, who contributed a gutsy first-innings century as New Zealand's form batter at the time, were ruled out on the morning of the series decider. Kyle Jamieson was also unavailable for workload reasons after featuring in the first two matches. Still, New Zealand prevailed.
Henry Nicholls filled Williamson's shoes effectively with 121 in the second Test. When Blair Tickner - drafted into the XI with Ben Sears for Henry and Jamieson - was ruled out with concussion after being struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer, Zak Foulkes subbed in and took 3 for 35 as New Zealand established a first-innings lead of 84. He then claimed the first three wickets of a hectic start to England's pursuit of 373.
Foulkes also had to tag in to complete Will O'Rourke's over twice, when the seamer damaged a finger off a thumping drive from Ben Stokes at the start of the fourth innings, then pulled up with a left hamstring strain on Monday. Mitchell Santner, replacing Phillips after recovering from a shoulder injury, took the final, series-clinching wicket in his first red-ball appearance since August last year.
Alongside the standard set by the regulars, such as player-of-the-series Nathan Smith, it was a complete squad performance. Latham, who scored his 17th Test century this week, believes this fourth series win out of five since he assumed the captaincy in October 2024, is one of his best.
"It's certainly very high up there," Latham said in his end-of-series press conference. "I've said it before, when you start the series, you obviously set out to be in this position.
"What I'm most proud about of this group is the way that they're able just to stick to the things that we wanted to do well, be really clear in terms of how we wanted to operate. Sometimes the results don't fall your way, sometimes they do, but we're fortunate enough that we're able to, I guess, be brave enough for long enough, and stick in there for those key moments and end up on the right side, which is certainly really pleasing. We'll certainly enjoy this one tonight."
Just as he did after the second Test, Latham credited the team's bravery in going "a little bit old-school". Here, their application came in response to a Trent Bridge pitch that began flat but deteriorated steadily as it was baked by the sun.
Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten century in the third innings typified that more traditional approach. He absorbed 241 deliveries - and wore 17 blows to gloves and body - across over six-and-a-half hours at the crease. In doing so, Mitchell took the game beyond England's reach.
Their response was to come out swinging, as one last hurrah for England captain Ben Stokes. News had come through of Stokes' retirement prior to tea on day four, with the allrounder immediately taking the wicket of Foulkes as he started the 11th over of a marathon spell. Stokes then charged out to open the batting, thrashing 30 off 20 in his final Test innings, before becoming the first of four to fall on the penultimate evening.
From the moment the ECB dropped Stokes' bombshell at 3:25pm, the atmosphere around the game changed completely. But it was only England who felt the negative effects of that, as New Zealand - first through Mitchell, then with the team in the field - kept their heads down and set about actually winning the game.
An audio clip from the stump-mic picked up New Zealand players asking "what are they doing?!" when Harry Brook was dismissed for 21 off 9, caught slog-sweeping to fine leg. Stokes later explained the tactic was to score quick runs against the new ball and remove the close catchers. Latham, however, admitted he was bemused by the tactic and credited his team for holding their nerve.
"It probably surprised us a little bit, if I'm being honest," Latham said. "But I think we've probably seen that from England over a period of time, the last few years, in terms of the style that they like to play.
"For us it's about trying to adapt to that situation, [which is] reasonably unique when you've got a new ball and you haven't got any slips, and you've got guys out on the boundary. But for us that's what was required at that moment of time.
"I thought the way the guys were able to stick to that, and be really clear in terms of how we were operating, was the most pleasing thing. On the back of that, we managed to pick up four really important wickets last night, which again made the job a little bit easier this morning."
New Zealand currently sit third on the World Test Championship table, behind Australia and South Africa. They won the inaugural title in 2021, but with series against India and Australia to come, returning to England for next year's final will not be straightforward.
But on current form, there is no reason why Latham cannot guide them through those challenges - and perhaps even become the first side to lift the mace twice.